{
  "title": "Paycalcmate Salary Packaging with HELP and Fees: Six Calculated Examples",
  "description": "Three contractual cash salaries, each with and without a study loan, compared using the same chosen benefit, reportable amount and post-tax fee.",
  "publisher": "Paycalcmate",
  "author": "Dan",
  "checkedAt": "2026-10-03",
  "financialYear": "2026-27",
  "temporalCoverage": "2026-07-01/2027-06-30",
  "currency": "AUD",
  "variableMeasured": [
    "Annual payroll cash without packaging",
    "Annual payroll cash with packaging before the post-tax fee",
    "Income tax",
    "Ordinary Medicare levy",
    "Medicare levy surcharge",
    "Compulsory HELP repayment",
    "Cash plus bills paid after the fee",
    "Annual current-year spending advantage"
  ],
  "method": "Keep the contractual annual salary fixed. Calculate annual resident liability without the package, then after removing the chosen $9,000 benefit from salary and adding the separately quoted $16,981.20 reportable benefit to relevant income tests. Add $9,000 of eligible bills paid to packaged payroll cash and subtract the chosen $240 post-tax fee once. Subtract baseline payroll cash to compare current-year spending value. These are calculated examples, not survey findings or provider prices.",
  "assumptions": {
    "year": "2026-27",
    "freq": "annual",
    "packageType": "excludes",
    "household": "single",
    "helpBalance": null,
    "privateHospital": false,
    "standardDeduction": true,
    "superCapped": true,
    "benefit": 9000,
    "reportableBenefit": 16981.2,
    "annualPostTaxFee": 240,
    "residency": "Full-year Australian resident, single, below pension age",
    "salary": "Cash salary excluding employer super, unchanged contractual super base",
    "deduction": "Eligible $1,000 standard work deduction; no other deductions",
    "medicare": "Ordinary Medicare levy. No appropriate hospital cover throughout the year. Latest legislated ordinary-levy thresholds apply; a later annual threshold uplift can change low-income assessments.",
    "help": "Specified on each row; repayment is not limited by a remaining loan balance",
    "otherIncome": 0,
    "quoteStatus": "Chosen illustration, not an entitlement, provider quote or eligibility decision",
    "excluded": "Extra pre-tax fees, employer sharing, passed-on FBT, benefit restrictions, payroll and reimbursement timing, government payments, other offsets, insurance costs and rebates, work costs and wealth effects",
    "interpretation": "Extra HELP reduces the remaining loan debt. It is not extra income tax or a provider fee. Current-year spending advantage is not lifetime wealth.",
    "rounding": "Calculate before rounding. Published amounts use cents; annual differences are taken before rounding."
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "StudyAssist: 2026 FEE-HELP booklet, section 8.5 on repayment income",
      "url": "https://www.studyassist.gov.au/download/232/2026-fee-help-information-booklet/179/document/pdf"
    },
    {
      "label": "ATO: reportable fringe benefits for employees",
      "url": "https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/jobs-and-employment-types/working-as-an-employee/reportable-fringe-benefits-for-employees"
    },
    {
      "label": "ATO: salary sacrificing super and reportable contributions",
      "url": "https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/growing-and-keeping-track-of-your-super/how-to-save-more-in-your-super/salary-sacrificing-super"
    },
    {
      "label": "ASIC Moneysmart: Australian resident income tax rates, including 2026-27",
      "url": "https://moneysmart.gov.au/work-and-tax/income-tax"
    },
    {
      "label": "2026 tax reform Act: standard work deduction, Schedule 4",
      "url": "https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00049/asmade/2026-06-26/text/original/epub/OEBPS/document_1/document_1.html"
    },
    {
      "label": "2026-27 HELP repayment indexation: official Gazette notice",
      "url": "https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026G00249/asmade/2026-04-20/text/original/epub/OEBPS/document_1/document_1.html"
    },
    {
      "label": "PrivateHealth.gov.au: Medicare levy surcharge income and hospital cover",
      "url": "https://privatehealth.gov.au/health_insurance/surcharges_incentives/medicare_levy.htm"
    },
    {
      "label": "Medicare Levy Act 1986, in force 1 July 2026",
      "url": "https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A03351/2026-07-01/2026-07-01/text/original/epub/OEBPS/document_1/document_1.html"
    },
    {
      "label": "2019 tax relief Act: low income tax offset, Schedule 1 item 3",
      "url": "https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2019A00052/asmade/2019-07-05/text/original/pdf"
    }
  ],
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "grossSalary": 65000,
      "helpDebt": false,
      "privateHospital": false,
      "pretaxBenefit": 9000,
      "reportableBenefit": 16981.2,
      "annualPostTaxFee": 240,
      "taxableWithout": 64000,
      "taxableWith": 55000,
      "repaymentIncomeWithout": 64000,
      "repaymentIncomeWith": 71981.2,
      "incomeTaxWithout": 9680,
      "incomeTaxWith": 6845,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWithout": 40,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWith": 175,
      "medicareWithout": 1280,
      "medicareWith": 1100,
      "surchargeWithout": 0,
      "surchargeWith": 0,
      "helpWithout": 0,
      "helpWith": 0,
      "helpIncrease": 0,
      "payrollCashWithout": 54040,
      "payrollCashWithBeforeFee": 48055,
      "payrollCashWithAfterFee": 47815,
      "billsPaid": 9000,
      "spendable": 56815,
      "advantage": 2775,
      "employerSuper": 7800
    },
    {
      "grossSalary": 65000,
      "helpDebt": true,
      "privateHospital": false,
      "pretaxBenefit": 9000,
      "reportableBenefit": 16981.2,
      "annualPostTaxFee": 240,
      "taxableWithout": 64000,
      "taxableWith": 55000,
      "repaymentIncomeWithout": 64000,
      "repaymentIncomeWith": 71981.2,
      "incomeTaxWithout": 9680,
      "incomeTaxWith": 6845,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWithout": 40,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWith": 175,
      "medicareWithout": 1280,
      "medicareWith": 1100,
      "surchargeWithout": 0,
      "surchargeWith": 0,
      "helpWithout": 0,
      "helpWith": 367.98,
      "helpIncrease": 367.98,
      "payrollCashWithout": 54040,
      "payrollCashWithBeforeFee": 47687.02,
      "payrollCashWithAfterFee": 47447.02,
      "billsPaid": 9000,
      "spendable": 56447.02,
      "advantage": 2407.02,
      "employerSuper": 7800
    },
    {
      "grossSalary": 80000,
      "helpDebt": false,
      "privateHospital": false,
      "pretaxBenefit": 9000,
      "reportableBenefit": 16981.2,
      "annualPostTaxFee": 240,
      "taxableWithout": 79000,
      "taxableWith": 70000,
      "repaymentIncomeWithout": 79000,
      "repaymentIncomeWith": 86981.2,
      "incomeTaxWithout": 14220,
      "incomeTaxWith": 11520,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWithout": 0,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWith": 0,
      "medicareWithout": 1580,
      "medicareWith": 1400,
      "surchargeWithout": 0,
      "surchargeWith": 0,
      "helpWithout": 0,
      "helpWith": 0,
      "helpIncrease": 0,
      "payrollCashWithout": 64200,
      "payrollCashWithBeforeFee": 58080,
      "payrollCashWithAfterFee": 57840,
      "billsPaid": 9000,
      "spendable": 66840,
      "advantage": 2640,
      "employerSuper": 9600
    },
    {
      "grossSalary": 80000,
      "helpDebt": true,
      "privateHospital": false,
      "pretaxBenefit": 9000,
      "reportableBenefit": 16981.2,
      "annualPostTaxFee": 240,
      "taxableWithout": 79000,
      "taxableWith": 70000,
      "repaymentIncomeWithout": 79000,
      "repaymentIncomeWith": 86981.2,
      "incomeTaxWithout": 14220,
      "incomeTaxWith": 11520,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWithout": 0,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWith": 0,
      "medicareWithout": 1580,
      "medicareWith": 1400,
      "surchargeWithout": 0,
      "surchargeWith": 0,
      "helpWithout": 1420.8,
      "helpWith": 2617.98,
      "helpIncrease": 1197.18,
      "payrollCashWithout": 62779.2,
      "payrollCashWithBeforeFee": 55462.02,
      "payrollCashWithAfterFee": 55222.02,
      "billsPaid": 9000,
      "spendable": 64222.02,
      "advantage": 1442.82,
      "employerSuper": 9600
    },
    {
      "grossSalary": 100000,
      "helpDebt": false,
      "privateHospital": false,
      "pretaxBenefit": 9000,
      "reportableBenefit": 16981.2,
      "annualPostTaxFee": 240,
      "taxableWithout": 99000,
      "taxableWith": 90000,
      "repaymentIncomeWithout": 99000,
      "repaymentIncomeWith": 106981.2,
      "incomeTaxWithout": 20220,
      "incomeTaxWith": 17520,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWithout": 0,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWith": 0,
      "medicareWithout": 1980,
      "medicareWith": 1800,
      "surchargeWithout": 0,
      "surchargeWith": 1069.81,
      "helpWithout": 0,
      "helpWith": 0,
      "helpIncrease": 0,
      "payrollCashWithout": 77800,
      "payrollCashWithBeforeFee": 70610.19,
      "payrollCashWithAfterFee": 70370.19,
      "billsPaid": 9000,
      "spendable": 79370.19,
      "advantage": 1570.19,
      "employerSuper": 12000
    },
    {
      "grossSalary": 100000,
      "helpDebt": true,
      "privateHospital": false,
      "pretaxBenefit": 9000,
      "reportableBenefit": 16981.2,
      "annualPostTaxFee": 240,
      "taxableWithout": 99000,
      "taxableWith": 90000,
      "repaymentIncomeWithout": 99000,
      "repaymentIncomeWith": 106981.2,
      "incomeTaxWithout": 20220,
      "incomeTaxWith": 17520,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWithout": 0,
      "lowIncomeOffsetWith": 0,
      "medicareWithout": 1980,
      "medicareWith": 1800,
      "surchargeWithout": 0,
      "surchargeWith": 1069.81,
      "helpWithout": 4420.8,
      "helpWith": 5617.98,
      "helpIncrease": 1197.18,
      "payrollCashWithout": 73379.2,
      "payrollCashWithBeforeFee": 64992.21,
      "payrollCashWithAfterFee": 64752.21,
      "billsPaid": 9000,
      "spendable": 73752.21,
      "advantage": 373.01,
      "employerSuper": 12000
    }
  ]
}